ARTICLES ABOUT BLANK CANVAS BY DATE - PAGE 3

In the early 1990s, with double retirements on the horizon, Barbara and Barry Schneider began dreaming up the country retreat to which they would move from their longtime family home in Deerfield. They bought a hillside acre and a third overlooking the tranquil wetlands of Pistakee Bay and Lac Louette northeast of the town of McHenry, and they commissioned an architect to design an airy structure that suggested two recycled barns pushed together at a 60-degree angle. Both professional designers-she of textbooks and educational materials, he of medical products-they delighted in every detail of creating their ultimate home.

The color of my shoe box-shape house is a shade of Dijon mustard. I am aware of the Dijon shade. I mean, after all, I do look at it every day. But like so many other things in day-to-day living, it becomes a given. When it comes to choosing flowers for my modest garden, the last thing I think about is the Dijon color of the house. So why should I bother? So what's that got to do with it? A whole lot, says Leslie Freytag, vice president of marketing and merchandising for Jackson & Perkins, the world's largest supplier of roses, bulbs and perennials for the home garden.

By Alan G. Artner, Tribune staff. Reprinted from "Chicago Days: 150 Defining moments in the Life of a Great City," edited by Stevenson Swanson, Contemporary Books | February 16, 1997

On this date, five civic leaders incorporated the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, descendant of the Chicago Academy of Design, which had sprung up in 1866 and had mounted several exhibitions before the Chicago Fire claimed it. Thus, in 1882, when the Academy of Fine Arts changed its name to the Art Institute of Chicago, the organization already had 16 years of experience. The institute did not have, however, a home of its own. So trustees purchased a lot on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Street, moving into the building at the front of the lot while constructing another building for the school and gallery behind.

So you're thinking about starting a business? It may be difficult these days to believe this, but you'll need to do more than drop the word "Internet" before someone will put any money into your idea. Just like the days when "PC" was the magic word--or when it was "biotech"--the idea and hype aren't enough. You need a business plan, 15 to 50 pages explaining, in detail, how you are going to research, develop, finance, manage and market your way to success. And what tool comes to mind when you think organizing, calculating and neatly printing information?

With the last piece of carpet laid minutes before a recent big reception, the Arizona Biltmore unfurled a new chapter in its storied history. The 65-year-old resort's new owners have spent two years and $35 million to restore the Biltmore's grandeur. They changed everything from locks on the room doors to the way they entertain guests. "We wanted to bring it back to its former glory but update it and create a sense of excitement and vitality," said Matt Crow, the Biltmore's president.

Whoops! Whoops! No, no, no, no, no! Daniel Curet was not invited to look at Patrice Casanova's latest ad test. He was here for Lisa Sliwa, he should sit and wait like a nice hairdresser. Casanova's square-jawed, American assistant wasn`t kidding. He`d snatched the portfolio away. Curet, who cuts for Pierre Michel in the Trump Tower, adjusted his low-slung, wide-track belt and did a little hip flip. He sat, eying the door to Casanova's loft. Sliwa entered, all in black, with the big brass SLIWA belt buckle over the model-flat black belly, red beret, with Sioux Indian beadwork doodad over the right eye. Her face was scraped because Rex, "the Vermeer of makeup," likes to work with a blank canvas.